Adobe updates Lightroom CC, Lightroom Classic CC and Camera Raw

Adobe has released its August 2018 update for Adobe Lightroom CC (v1.5), Adobe Lightroom Classic CC (v7.5) and Adobe Camera Raw (v10.5). Across the board, the update brings along bug fixes, new features and support for more cameras and lenses.

First on the docket is Adobe Lightroom CC (v1.5). The stand-out feature of the update is the ability to store albums locally. Now, you can download images from an album onto your computer and edit them offline if you're going to be without internet for a bit. The next time you get internet the images will sync to the files stored in Creative Cloud.

Adobe Lightroom CC (v1.5) also brings the ability to see what albums a particular image belongs to. Windows users now have support for Apple's HEIC image file format as well.

Onto Lightroom Classic CC (v7.5), Adobe has added the ability to upload presets and profiles in bulk, rather than having to do it one-by-one. 'You can import XMP presets and profiles, DCP profiles, and LCP profiles as part of a zip file,' says Adobe in its press release. 'However, .lrtemplate presets can't be imported as part of a zip file.'

Adobe also added two new book types (Blurb Magazine and Blurb Trade Book), as well as a new paper type (Standard Layflat) inside the Book module of Lightroom Classic CC. Lightroom Classic CC (v7.5) for Windows also receives support for Apple's HEIC image file format.

Bug fixes inside Lightroom Classic CC (v7.5) include fixes for various preset issues, exporting problems, metadata errors and performance issues. You can find a full list of squashed bugs on Adobe's announcement page.

The update to Adobe Camera Raw (v10.5) is rather minor, as it only adds support for three new cameras and eight new lenses. Support for these new cameras and lenses has also been added to Adobe Lightroom CC (v1.5) and Lightroom Classic CC (v7.5). Below is a complete list of the new cameras and lenses supported in these updates:

Cameras:

Parrot Anafi

Sony RX100 VA (DSC-RX100MSA)

Sony RX100 VI (DSC-RX100M6)

Lenses:

Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 180-400mm f/4E TC1.4 FL ED VR

Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 180-400mm f/4E TC1.4 FL ED VR + 1.4x

Anafi 23mm F2.4

SIGMA 70mm F2.8 DG MACRO A018

SIGMA 105mm F1.4 DG HSM A018

Sony FE 400mm F2.8 GM OSS

Sony FE 400mm F2.8 GM OSS + 1.4X Teleconverter

Sony FE 400mm F2.8 GM OSS + 2X Teleconverter

You can find a full list of cameras and lenses supported by Adobe products here and here, respectively.

The updates for all three apps went live today, so head to your Adobe Creative Cloud desktop app (or respective app store) and update your programs.

LR is generally a great editor for me except that it will not release memory during editing sessions. After some time I just have to exit and reload the program to reclaim the memory. This is particularly painfull when using both LR and Photoshop together. However the disappearing memory seems to be due to LR not Photoshop.

The speed of the program is good until it hits the memory ceiling - (watch the 'Task Manager' Performace tab). It's then I have to start over again. Painful!!!(I have 16GB of memory using Win7).

That's a general problem today. Most programs don't release memory because they cache the closed pictures/data. Getting back to them would be nice and fast but most of us don't need this. It's even worse on browsers. Closing a Firefox from 6Gb and restarting it gets up to 2 Gb... Same tabs open

I'm guessing the answer will be "no", but does anyone know if it's possible to update the Camera Raw core at the heart of LR6 (standalone)? Obviously wouldn't get new features, but support for new cameras and lenses would be good.

The closest you can get is to use the Adobe DNG Converter to convert new raw files to DNG format which will work in Lr6. Of course, there's no guarantee that Adobe will keep supporting the DNG Converter. My guess is its days are numbered.

Until there is a version of cc that does not require you to have a copy of everything store in the cloud there will be a need for classic. I am not a particularly prolific photographer but I have around 40,000 raw files. It’s simply not practical for me to upload them all. Professional photographers will have hundreds of thousands of images.

I have to say: I moved over to Lightroom CC six months ago. It was more important “for me” to have images pop up on different devices, being able to share easily, and not mess with the frustration of trying to sync different catalogs. The memory eating nature along with having to recreate different catalogs on an external NAS Drive just about drove me over the edge.

But I can see that if a pro photographer has >100k raw files then it wouldn’t make sense to have to keep buying cloud storage from LR. I would think that a pro photographer has a setup at the office or home to be able to manage and store all those photos locally anyway, so the desktop classic version is a keeper. Unfortunately the classic version for my use just was infuriating.

It would have been a lot easier for us if Adobe would have just upgraded LR with all of the features that both Classic and CC offer and give the customers the ability to customize it to our specific needs.

@Steely70Lightroom CC is almost there for me. It just needs Classic's export function. I don't use Photoshop so I would like to opt for the cloud storage but, I'm not the biggest fan of its implementation.

I don't want EVERYTHING backed up to the cloud. But, if I could have a specific catalog/album on the cloud by my choice, that'd be awesome.

I have been very much against the subscription model but to be fair, when you do the math, $10 a month for 5 years is $600 which is actually pretty reasonable for getting PS and LR including updates for that amount of time. If I understand correctly, if you stop paying, LR will still open and you have access to all your photos and edits and you can export to TIFF or whatever you want. That's reasonable as well. One concern I have is how much one can trust Adobe. They said they will never take LR to be subscription only, yet they did. They can do whatever they want in the future because once subscribed to their rental concept we have absolutely zero say or power or ownership. That's a little dangerous IMHO. A computer with a software I own will run for the next 20 years (or more) and I can do everything with my photos that I'm doing now. That's a security I like to have. Not with the subscription model, no matter what Adobe 'promises' right now.

Where does this word force originate from. How will they force all my work to the cloud? I use LR Classic and all my files are stored locally. I haven't even installed LR CC. If you drop the plan you have a year to get your files back.

I did read your post. I have the security of stand alone software. LR7 is on my desktop, all my files are on a external drive and I don't have a single file in the cloud. Either you don't understand this or you are just spreading false information.

If you want the 'security' of standalone software and local storage & editing, you will have explore alternatives.

How will it force me? Will I have no choice to use other software? I have no doubt they may develop a hybrid that works on both platforms. I have already read about. Speculating about all cloud usage and not maintaining options for local storage using a desktop with an option to sync is just that - speculation. I'm going to use what is best for me today and no one will "force" me to do anything I don't want to. This was the same conversation 6 months ago. This is only an update. It is not an entire new product or platform. It is one thing to charge $10 a month but raise the price to $50 a month to accommodate people who have 10 TB or more of files when they force you to move all your files to the cloud.

If they ever enable you to run the new LR in a local only mode without any need to pay for cloud storage (even if it disables some functionality) then I'll be interested again, regardless of the subscription model.

As things stand I have no faith that they won't bury Classic sooner rather than later and basically force you unto their cloud...

I don't mind having cloud storage as an option, I use Google Drive and Dropbox, I don't mind the sub either; but I don't wanna be forced into a combo of both, and that's the track they're on.

No, the all new LR (which will eventually supplant Classic, otherwise why the name switcheroo), the one simply called LR. AFAIK to use it the files must be in the cloud, which is a big ol' neon sign about their long term plans.

How do you know this? Are you saying they won't allow people with 10+ TB of files not use local storage on desktops apps? How do you know if when Classic is gone the new won't be a cross platform with both options with cloud storage for mobile devices and for both local and syncing to the cloud using a desktop app. I have a hard time believing people will be happy to go from $10 to $50 a month to to move a decade's worth of files into the cloud. What will Adobe do? As soon as you sign up infiltrate your computer, find your external drives and suck all your files into the cloud?

I forgot to mention. What are pros and non pros for that matter going to do when they explore jungles other remote areas of the world that have no internet connection? Shoot for 3 weeks but not be able to import and edit images as they go? I'm pretty sure pros edit every day so when they come out they are reading to send the files. How well will Adobe's all cloud plan work for them? Not well I don't think and organizations like National Geographic are pretty big.

I don't know it for certain obviously, but if they were gonna have a local option for the new LR you would think it would be there from the start. People said a lot of the same things you're saying about the move to a sub model (which I don't have a big issue with) and yet they went ahead with it and basically forced people into it... Just saying, the writing is on the wall for me.

A lot of pros don't use Adobe, don't import in the field, and/or decided to transition to Capture One over recent Adobe policies, just saying... I'm sure those are things Adobe weighs up, maybe they'll have a local mode that queues up things for later upload and disables edits if not after a certain time, who knows. I don't find the uncertain status quo around the new LR very appealing tho.

Maybe but it is just version 1 and pretty stripped down. They started to add things but it does not come close to what the desktop app can do. If they wanted to have one that did both why not wait until it was fully developed? There is a reason for 2 products,

I know I'm not going to worry about it and I'm concerned about everything going to cloud. Adobe announces things ahead of time and it takes 2 seconds to unplug my drives even though I know unless I authorize it, the files won't go to the cloud. The cancel plan button is 30 seconds away. LR CC goes to the cloud and that is explained. That is why I didn't install it.

Still does not explain how they will deal with multiple TB's of storage and people working in remote areas.

It is ironic that the ONE thing that makes LR6 useable for me is a discontinued 3rd party plugin. It's VSCOkeys, which adds easy keyboard shortcuts for the things I do most in LR. For all of their massive wealth and supposed expertise, Adobe can't seem to figure out that LR should have quick one-key shortcuts for basic adjustments built in.

Completely wrong guys!It doesn’t matter how fast your pc is or how much RAM you have since LR can’t take advantage of it.I have 64 RAM but LR still gets wonky and slow when reaching around 12!So dont fall into the buy-better-hardware-trap.Its all abt the software, i.e. how LR works (and unfortunately, not work.)

The one thing I'm still looking for in LR Classic is nested folders for presets! Yes you can create top-level folders, but I don't think you can create nested folders, which would be nice for keeping presets more organized especially if you're dealing with preset packs where there might be several presets per pack, etc.

Yeah it's kinda ironic, I'm still on LR6 and eyeing alternatives. I don't mind the cloud, I don't mind the sub model either, but I don't wanna be forced into a combo of both once they sunset Classic... And it seems obvious they will at some point. If they add a local-only mode to the new LR I'd gladly pay the sub for it and PS, it's a decent enough value.

Perhaps you are joking but I'm planning on making a dedicated digital darkroom with my late 2012 iMac for shooting with my current RX100V and Sigma DPM cameras. LR 6 does everything I need it to do. The purpose is to avoid rental software and not having to buy another expensive computer again, and not worrying about app and OS updates for it.

Will see how long I can make it last. As it is I can fix most things in the iMac and I can replace everything. The days of feeling the need to upgrade are over. Digital image quality is mature and good enough for me as it is.

I was definitely not joking! I have my 2 Leica M9's (bought second hand), I love them, and I have no need for better. I kinda enjoy looking for gems on the second hand market, saves a fortune, and there are great older cameras out there.

Where are good (the best) places to get 2nd hand gear? I would think that next year will be an awesome time to do this because everyone will be getting gear acquisition syndrome with the FF Canon and Nikon mirrorless cameras coming out. I want to move to full frame and 2019 WILL be the year to do it.

Safest is probably ebay from a seller with very high rating (don't go under 98%). There's always a chance of being bamboozled, I've had one bad transaction this year, out of 6. I spoke with a maintenance guy after that happened, and he recommended me to always check it out yourself and test it before buying.

LR is just ACR on steroids. It is like having ACR opened all of the time with addition editing tools and a history of your adjustments. Even if you don't shoot thousands of images LR's export page and process are excellent. It takes the guesswork out of deciding how to sharpen for media type.

LR has radial and graduated filter and brush tools. The new range mask is like having layers in PS. Not as sophisticated but it works well.

In version 7.3 LR switched presets to XMP files so not they are shared with PS.

Unless you are into design and heavy editing which PS made for LR is more for the photographer. It took a few trials to warm up to it but I prefer it over PS. which I still use now and then.

"LR is just ACR on steroids. It is like having ACR opened all of the time with addition editing tools and a history of your adjustments."

No, many of the tools work differently in LR, and are in fact much easier to use, never mind the fact that it can do much more. ACR is designed with the same philosophy of poor usability as Photoshop has always been.

Nice to see they have looked at one of the less glamorous sections, the book module. Maybe there is hope that they are in the course of addressing the shortcomings in keyword management and we will see improvements here in the not too distant future.

"But I'll enjoy avoiding them, and that's what's important to me. Oh, and I'll also enjoy telling everyone why they should be avoided for years to come :-)"-- Yes, and you'll enjoy regaling the DPR audience with your important non-bitterness for years to come. Hope *you* like it.

@pokesfan I purchased upgrades for every version of Lightroom since v2 - so it was never 'free'. And if v6 is six years old, and they couldn't innovate or come out with a new chargeable version, shame on them. Many will cite how they never ever managed to use multiple CPU cores until they made you rent it.

And that's my point - they made us rent it. Don't pay... go away. Nice.

Same here. Saw no important new feature after V5.7 and my cam is still supported... so why should I stick my money to someone else's... you know what. Apart from this it's still the best in ergonomics so I still love it.

bb fell and nokia fell and ms (wm) fell. every giant can fall. adobe is a veteran amongst other editors but over time they polish their software. notice how many likes OP got. which says, many people are hating adobe. actually by stats theyre very hated by people.

I left adobe last year. I use acdsee pro and affinity. we dont use adobe in our house. I moved 2 of my friends to those as well. there are other great editors besides what I use but over time, the large adobe user base will diminish and spread to others. its inevitable.

and to many here, there are adobe reps here trying to downplay negative talk against them. actually all mfr do it. its not like it costs money to open an account and post.

It's honestly only a matter of time before other apps (like CaptureOne) go full subscription. Yes there are free alternatives like DarkTable and a few others but their updates are as frequent (and thus new camera support takes longer for many of them). Using ANY system, you run the risk of getting locked in, even with the free apps like DarkTable. What if they went belly-up and you put your entire catalog into their system? The same argument applies to CaptureOne, Adobe, Affinity, etc. (This is also why I mainly use PS and save all my files in TIFF with max compatability so I can open it later in some other program should I decide to ditch PS).

I bought Adobe apps that were upgradeable when I bought them. That was part of the bargain, that Adobe would offer upgrades from time to time, and I could buy them or not. They are fully paid for, as are various upgrades. But then Adobe killed off the upgrade paths from my LR and PS. So, yes, they abandoned them. So Adobe is on my avoid list too. I'd happily pay for occasional upgrades if they provided actual value to me, but I won't dump the apps that I paid for just because Adobe wants a monthly fee for no actual service. Software is not a service. My clients pay me when I sell them a product or service; they don't just send me free money for nothing every month.

@Dylthedog they did innovate and come out with a multi core version, it's called Lightroom Classic CC. If you want the features and the updates, you gotta pay. That's how the big world outside works, kiddo. LR6 isn't going to just magically get all the updates for nothing.

If you don't like the subscription pricing, then I suggest you whine and complain about it on the internet forums for at least 6 years, maybe something will change! Oh wait...

@pokesfan you seem fixated on this concept of ‘free’, yet no one is asking for that as far as I can see. I’d gladly pay for that upgrade, but they don’t offer one, they only offer a subscription, which is not an upgrade, it’s a rental.

And innovate? Haha, just about every app ‘innovated’ with multi-core support a couple of years after the chips came out, not wait for 10 years like Adobe. Given you’ve just suggested that counts, maybe you should look up what innovate means...

You obviously missed it above (several times), so once again, I’m not asking for free, just for a choice.

Actually, whining for the next six years sounds like fun! See you at the next few Adobe CC press releases ;-)

For about 2 decades Adobe built their company on sales and paid upgrades. They were amazingly successful, and customers got amazing products. They had to compete for each sale because each sale had to prove itself vs. all other options. Now with subscription they have much less of an incentive to compete. My prediction is they'll be less innovative than ever, and subscription payers will get less value for their money than ever. The new business model is this: charge more, deliver less. That can work for a while because of their monopolistic power in certain segments, but it's not good for customers in the long term.

You haven't given Adobe a dime since LR6, and yet you whine about not getting upgrades for free. LR6 is working as advertised, right? It works with all cameras of that era, right?

I don't go to Samsung 6 years after I bought a TV because they don't add an extra HDMI port, for free. I pony up and buy a new TV if I need the new features. It's almost like you haven't been introduced to capitalism. You think all those Adobe engineers are working for free?

And yet, those of us who have moved on are paying far less than you ever did under the "old model." I pay about $90 a year (via some sale on BH Photo) for full and current versions of Photoshop, Lightroom Classic, Lightroom CC, iPad integration, and a bunch of other stuff. By my estimation I once paid $300 for LR2, $150 to $99 upgrade every year after that, $600 for PS CS, and $200 every 2 years for upgrades after that.

Math, Dylthedog! You should try it.

Or, you could continue to whine about your poor plight, as is your wont

If you average things out: old model (ie. perpetual license with upgrades) versus the new (subscription) over a 5 year period let's say, which is about the average life of a piece of software (maybe less, like 3 years nowadays), it at the very worst, comes out to about the same. PS6 cost about $700 to start back when you could buy a perpetual license. Over a 5 year period at $11 per month (which includes tax) you'd pay $660. The biggest difference is that after 5 years, with the subscription, you have the latest version, which might cost you an additional $400 to upgrade the PS6 had you purchased a perpetual license. Now some don't like subscriptions by their nature of a perpetual charge every month until you cancel (not to mention feeling locked into a system--which that argument of being locked into a system could be said for most RAW Editors, not just Adobe and/or LR) and that's fine. People are entitled to their choices and preferences....

The thing is some people get this idea that subscriptions cost more. Some do, some don't in the long run... but when you compare what Adobe had (perpetual with paid upgrades) to what they have now (subscription but you always have the latest version), at the very worst, you're no better off, but usually are better off as you always have the latest version. Now they're working on the idea of : "I can't afford $700 up front, but I can afford $11 per month." Same for the phone companies.... " I can't afford a $800 phone now, but i could do the $35 per month payment for 24 months..." For those who have older cameras, by all means, use LR6 until you get a new camera....

So AGAIN, where in all of this did I ask for free? You’re sounding like a stuck record. Maybe your boss at Adobe coached you to say that? Anyway, I don’t need/use Photoshop, so it’s of no use to me, and therefore no value.

@Otaraka You're right I would love to use any product that folks like @dylthedog shun. You're pretty much guaranteed that whatever he's shunning it's probably a great, updated product for cheaper, that he is boycotting for eternity. in 2040 Dylthedog will still be running LR6 on Windows 10, because they wouldn't upgrade him for free...

Companies like Adobe (and many others) can no longer afford to continue with the old model of perpetual licensing. For a user to buy software one year, and not upgrade until six years later - no revenue for Adobe - all the while continuing to invest R&D, pay salaries, expenses, etc.. in the hopes folks like you will buy the software six years down the road is a sure-fire way of going bankrupt -quickly.

Small shops like Adobe was years ago could get away with it for a while, but Adobe - and others - can't run like that anymore. You may not like it, but that's the reality. It's disingenuous for folks like you to expect shops to basically not have any revenue until you're ready to buy an upgraded package.

The subscription model for better or for worse, works. Accept it because more shops are going to do it. Whine away, or start up your own Adobe competitor and see how cheap you can run it.

@pokesfan, Your reading comprehension seems to be suffering today. As I wrote, "I'd happily pay for occasional upgrades if they provided actual value to me, ..." So I'm not whining about not getting upgrades "for free". I would have paid Adobe more money since LR6 if they had offered upgrades that provide me with actual value. They didn't, and they killed off my upgrade path anyway, so I haven't paid them a dime since LR6. And I SAVED A LOT OF MONEY that way. It bears capitalization, because it's the part that some people so quickly forget.

@Elonlukatski, Their profits are skyrocketing because they're leveraging a monopoly position, not making people "happy". Read all of the complaints about LR slowness in a recent Petapixel article. Watch as their innovation rate declines, and all photographers are worse off as a result. The subscription business model is: deliver less, charge more.

@Gmon750, Adobe has millions of customers, remember? I am not their only customer. If I don't buy something for 6 years, millions of others will buy on the days in-between. Get it? Besides, I would likely buy something from Adobe every 3-5 years if they offered me an upgrade path, but they don't, so it's now 6 years and running.

Your "potential bankruptcy" argument is pure imagination. Why waste your time defending the ultra-ultra-rich? They are a long, long, long way from bankruptcy. Subscription is not some plan to avoid quick bankruptcy. It's a plan to rake in additional mountains of money to pile on top of existing mountains of money.

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